All Good Things Must Come to an End

I am in mourning......deal seekers, super-couponers and extreme couponers - it's a sad, sad day. 

According to the Super-Couponing Blog, Jewel stores have made some BIG changes to the way Catalina promos are running at their stores.  For those of you that have had the wonderful experience of shopping at Jewel you will know what I am talking about when I tell you that there are no longer going to be ANY price spreads on the threshold amounts for meeting the required purchase for Catalina promos.  Yes, I feel your pain. 

You can read the original post here at the Super-Couponing site.  Here it is in a nutshell:

"Corporate has confirmed that the big Catalina update (in which the deals were totally down on Monday) also fixed the price "spread" in Catalina deals that many of us have enjoyed for quite some time. (And honestly... who didn't think that "someday," this would be fixed?)

Rest assured that we'll still continue to see great deals - the current $30/$10 diapers deal runs on regular prices and is still fabulous. But for anyone who had trouble with the ice cream deal after Monday of this week - this is why. Thanks to Tracey for confirming with corporate."

This is also being slowly confirmed over at CW by trial and error.  It appears that some stores have already downloaded the new software and this is already working.  If the store has not downloaded the new software, the Catalina's are still printing on the price spread between preferred and shelf price. 

R.I.P. Jewel

Hilander/Kroger 3/24 thru 3/30

Tara's list of Hilander/Kroger deals for the Mega Event last week is current and running again this week.  You can see her original post here.  If you have any new deals to add please leave a comment to share with others. 

I wanted to add a superb water deal that my frugal friend Nicole alerted me to.  The 24 pack cases of Nestle Pure Life water (our favorite) are on sale with the Mega Event for $2.79 (when buying 10 participating items).  There's a way to bring down your OOP even more though!  I searched high and low and there are no current manufacturer coupons available to use on this, but right now there is a national  Catalina promo running on Nestle Pure Life.  If you buy 4 cases of water in one transaction you will receive a $5 OYNO Catalina.  That brings down your OOP for each case to $1.54.  That's a steal for Nestle Pure Life, and the cheapest I have ever seen it.  The cheapest I have gotten this for with coupons is $2.38 a case at Walmart.  With summer right around the corner you can bet your bottom dollar that I am stocking up on these!  I rolled this deal once today, and I am thinking about going back for more.  This national Catalina runs thru 4/3/11 so if you can't get to a Kroger store, keep your eyes out for a great sale until 4/3. 

Walmart Saga Continued (& Hopefully Over)

Yesterday I went to my Walmart (Belviere, IL) and was told I wasn't allowed to use any RR as they were OYNO coupons. I paid and then asked to talk to the manager. I spoke with the front end manager who told me it was the 'managers descretion' part of the policy to no longer take them. They had a meeting that morning with all the cashiers and they won't take them. I asked her to show me that part, but she couldn't (obviously because it isn't there). I left and called 1-800-walmart to voice my problem and got into more into the issue than planned.

The receptionist at 1-800-Walmart gave me the number for the manager of the mananger at my Walmart to call, so I did. He was surprised at the policy change especially the part about 'managers discretion'. He also had no idea what a catalina was and told me he'd look into it and call me back.

Today I received a call from Monty, the manager at my Walmart. We discussed the issue again and he was also surprised by the 'managers discretion' since it wasn't from him. He also didn't know what a catalina was so asked if next time I was at Walmart to talk with him and show him.

So of course this afternoon I went to Walmart, bought a few things, tried to pay with RR, got the same story, and asked to see him. He was a wonderful person to talk with and truly had no clue about catalinas, but was willing to listen. I showed him RR, Hilander cats, Target cats, and Target store catalinas. He even asked to keep a few to make copies for his cashiers.

So .... MY WALMART WILL NOW TAKE ALL CATALINAS, EVEN OYNO ONES SUCH AS RR. They will follow all the guidelines of their new policy. The one thing you will have to watch is that you have one item per coupon as stated on the catalinas (similar to how Wags works). If you run into any trouble at my Walmart, please ask to speak with Monty or Theresa, his assistant manager who I also spoke with.

Hopefully this is the last we'll have to worry about this issue, but it's Walmart, so if you run into any other coupon issues or successes (especially at my Belvidere Walmart), please leave a message here. Now that I am on a first name basis with this manager, I hopefully can resolve or at least get an answer quickly.

Hilander Week of 3/17-3/23

There is finally another fun week at Hilander. They are running a mega event where if you buy 10 items you get $5 off your order. These work great for couponers because of overage. There are tons of items included and coupon matchups. Here are some of my favorites - prices listed are after the discount:

Ronzoni Pasta - all varieties (as if we don't already have enough, but it's FREE) .49 - $1/1 Garden Delight, $1/2 Smart Taste, $1/2 Healthy Harvest - All free with overage

Dannon Yogurt 1.49 - $1/1 from 2/27 SS and recent catalinas

Rice A Roni/Pasta Roni .89 - B3RiceG1PastaFree $1/2 RP (mine actually deducted $2, but you should at least get the pre-discount price of 1.39)

Kraft Miracle Whip 2.79 - $1/1 from their facebook page & .75/1 Ecoupon from Hilander.net

Nabisco Crakers (Ritz, Wheat Thins, etc) 1.99 - $1/2 from 1/30 SS, $1/1 Ritz Munchables here, $1/1 Wheat Thins & $1/1 Wheat Thins Crunch Sticks from their facebook page

Cocoa or Fruity Pebbles Treats 1.99 - .75/1 from 3/13 SS

Kraft Singles 1.02 - .55/1 from 2/13 SS

Phili Cooking Cream 1.99 - $1.50/1 from 3/6 SS and Kraft First Taste

Annies Organic Mac N Cheese .49

French's Spciy Brown Mustard 1.19 - .50/1 Ecoupon from Hilander.net, .75/1 from 1/23 SS

Country Crock 1.49 - check your recent catalinas

Capri Sun 1.43

Post Cereal 1.99 (includes family size Honey Bunches of Oats, Cocoa Pebbles, Fruity Pebbles and NOT HBO with Raisins) - check recent catalinas for $1/1 HBO --- also a catalina promo for buy 3 get $2, buy 4 get $3, and buy 5 get $4 on your next order

Other good sales this week include:
Lays Chips 1.99 - .55/1 from 3/13 SS
Hormel Pepperoni 1.00 - $1/2 from 1/23 SS
Maruchan Yakisoba 1.09 - .50/1 from 3/13 SS
Old Spice Deoderant 1.99 - $1/1 Ecoupon on Hilander.net, $1/1 from P&G booklet, B1 deoderant G1 bodywash Free from 2/27 PG - Both FREE
Kroger Eggs 1.00
Pork Chops 1.99/lb

Check out the ad at Hilander.net for more sales this week. Remember Hilander doubles two like coupons in one shopping trip up to .55, so you may need to split up your trips.

Hilander Week of 1/13-1/19

This weeks deal that caught my attention first was the GM Cereal and Breakfast bars. Now the price alone of $2.49 each is not great, but when you combine it with coupons, electronic coupons, free boxes of cereal, and 2 catalina deals it gets better. I focused on Nature Valley Granola Bars and Fiber One Chewy bars in my trip this morning. Both have a deal running where if you buy 3 boxes of bars at $2.49 each, you get one free box of Cinnamon Chex or Cinnamon Burst Cheerios (this part does stack).

The two catalinas running (and I didn't test if you could combine them, just that they worked separately) are buy 3 boxes get $1.50 OYNO, buy 4 boxes get $2.50 OYNO, and buy 5 boxes get $3.50 OYNO. This will be in the form of a catalina coupon that will print out and given to you with your receipt, not an instant savings. Here are a list of coupon matchups.

Nature Valley: .50/1 smartsource.com (prints with do not double), .50/1 target.com (does not contain the Target logo), .50/1 coupons.com (prints with DND), .50/1 ecentives.com, $1/2 boxtopsforeducation.com and .75/2 from the 1/2 GM insert. Also .50/1 electronic coupons from Hilander.net and cellfire.com (always load from the Hilander site first).

Fiber One Chewy: .50/1 smartsource.com (prints with DND), .50/1 target.com (no logo), .50/1 coupons.com (prints with DND), .50/1 ecentives.com, and .40/1 from the 1/2 GM insert. Also .50/1 ecoupons on Hilander.net and Cellfire.com

Chex Cereal Coupons (which they may or may not accept): $1/2 smartsource.com and $1/2 ecoupon on shortcuts.com (this will actually affect the ammount the free one comes off as - for some reason the computer detects this coupon and deducts $1 less automatically).

Here's how I worked it:
6 NV bars at $2.49 each + 2 boxes Cinnamon Chex also $2.49= $19.92
6-.50/1 coupons (my cashier doubled all) & $1/2 chex (and took this)= $12.92
2-.50/1 eQ's (bars) & $1/2 eQ (cereal)= $10.92
$2.49 (first free box cereal) & $1.49 (second free box because of the EQ)=$6.94
and get back $3.50 catalina = $3.44 or .43 per item

6 Fiber One Bars and 2 boxes Chex= $19.92
4-.50/1 Q's & 2-.40/1 Q's (my cashier doubled all) & $1/2 chex (and took this)=$13.32
3-.50/1 eQ's (bars, I had one previously loaded)= $11.82
2-$2.49 (both free boxes of cereal)= $6.84
and get back $3.50 catalina = $3.34 or .42 per item

You will need to break up your order as only one catalina will print out per transaction. I also used the first catalina to help pay for the second. Your transactions may be different than mine depending on the coupons you have and the cashier you get.

Keep in mind Hilander only doubles 2 of a like coupon in one day. This can be interpreted by your cashier as only two .50/1 for a product or they may double more .50/1 coupons because they 'look' different. They also may or may not take a coupon on a free product such as the cereal. It is definitely a YMMV experience at Hilander these days.

Other deals to mention:
Quaker Instant Oatmeal is $1.99 - use the $1/1 from the 1/2 RP
8 lb bags of Jumbo Russet Potatoes are $2.99
Tyson boneless, skinless chicken is again $1.97/lb
Hillshire Farms Deli Lunchmeat is $3 - use the .55/1 (doubled) from the 1/9 RP

Duracell battery deal

Hilander has a deal in this week's ad (through Wed) for Duracell batteries---4 pack of AA or AAA, 2 pack of C or D, or a single 9V. They are on sale for $1.98, which isn't a bad price..but here's a way to get them for even lower. If you spend $15 (purchase 8 packs), you will get a $3 OYNO catalina. Make the deal sweeter by using coupons. There is a $1.50/1 coupon in the 11/14 RP and there are also $.75/1 in the 10/10 P&G. If you happen to have gotten the P&G at home mailer, there was also a coupon for $1.50/1 in there.

New Printable Coupon Link

I have added a new printable coupon link on the sidebar that I wanted to point out to you.  This link is for Coupon Network by Catalina and yes, this is the SAME Catalina company that gives us all the great Catalina promos! 

If you are shopping the GM Catalina promo this week at Jewel you are going to want to check out this site - there's loads of printables for many of the products on the UPC list. 

You will need to sign up to have access to the printables and you will want to check back often to see if there's any new offers.  I am really hoping that they are going to continually offer printable manufacturer coupons that align with the Catalina promos running at the stores - wouldn't that be sweet?!?